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Beyond Trump’s Wall

The president-elect should reform our legal immigration system, too.

While President-elect Donald Trump made immigration a cornerstone issue of his campaign, much of his program revolved around stemming the flow of illegal immigration. But the United States also has a flawed legal immigration system, which allows some 1 million people to gain lawful status here every year. The bulk of these legal immigrants enter based on family ties. By contrast, many developed nations have shifted to a skills-based approach to immigration, one that seeks to admit residents with talents that the country needs and skills that are likely to make them successful, productive citizens. America should do the same.